Opposing line coach on Dontari Poe: “He took plays off”

Posted by Evan Silva on February 28, 2012, 11:11 AM EDT

Getty Images

Memphis nose tackle Dontari Poe absolutely blew up the Scouting Combine. He was hand timed as fast as 4.87 in the forty-yard dash at 6-foot-4 and 346 pounds. He led every player invited to Indianapolis with 44 reps on the 225-pound bench press.

But can Poe play football, or is he just a workout warrior?

CBS Sports’ Bruce Feldman interviewed one veteran college offensive line coach who game planned against Poe in Conference USA. The position coach gave Poe mixed reviews.

“He’s probably the best talent I’ve seen in several years,” said the assistant. “He took plays off and wasn’t a great effort guy, but he is a freakish talent.”

Feldman suggested that most oversized defensive linemen take some snaps off.

“Yeah,” the coach conceded. “But he took off more than most. He did get better last year than he was the year before. He just was never that productive, but I heard they didn’t require him to do that much. He was definitely someone I took into account with schemes. … I’m not at all surprised to hear that he’s blowing up at the Combine, at all.”

Poe started 30 games in college, racking up 21 1/2 tackles for loss, five sacks, and seven forced fumbles. The C-USA coaches voted him second-team all-conference in 2011.

Maybe he just needs millions of dollars on the line and someone screaming in his face. Motivation is funny that way.

Most fans have never met an NFL player before, much less gotten to know any of them.

I can honestly say that I have met and ranged from casual acquaintences (would frequent same gym and occasionally talk) to being friends with and hanging out with current/former players.

I would say the largest misconception that fans have is that they assume the player who is on their team wants to win and succeed as much as the fan wants them to. The NFL has an extremely long list of players who had the ability to succeed, but not the will. A quick payday and a sense of entitlement for being a high draft choice happens more often than you realize.

And no team is immune – no matter what their existing leadership is. There was no physical ability that Limas Sweed was missing, yet it still did not prevent him from completely underachieving and failing — even with Hines Ward instructing. Nor did having leadership all around him – did it keep Brandon Merriweather from being undisciplined and selfish.

Michael David Smith – you are dead WRONG! Mark Schlereth blasted the Ravens for taking Haloti Ngata & went off about Ngata taking plays off, playing lazy, and that he would be a bust. Most everyone thought otherwise, but there absolutely was an undercurrent of criticism exactly like what is being said here about Poe. Put this guy on a team with veteran leadership like Ravens, Steelers, Packers, Saints, etc…and he’ll be fine.

That loser coach is NOT being looked at by the NFL. You can bet on it. Now it’s all about devaluing a kid’s worth. Leave him alone and let the teams figure it out. If they wanted your opinion – you’d at least be a scout.

“Michael David Smith says:
Feb 28, 2012 11:52 AM
This is NOT the same rep Haloti Ngata had at Oregon. Ngata was a first-team All-American at Oregon. No one questioned his on-field production. Poe isn’t even first-team All-Conference-USA.”
———————————————————
Yes, they were saying the same thing about Ngata during that combine.
However some speculated it was a smoke screen by teams who hoped he may fall to them. This could be the same thing.

How people forget! All during the Combine, Mayock compared Poe to Haloti… During the Combine a few years back, Haloti received criticism for not being physical enough on every play and “taking plays off”. When Haloti was taken by the Ravens, the pick was both criticized and lauded because Haloti was going to a team where he would be accountable for loafing around when he was on he field.

When big men can move like these guys, teams at the bottom of the first round (i.e. good teams) love these kinds of stories. That means they’ll get a tremendous talent for a screaming deal. Poe shouldn’t get out of the top 10, but he’ll likely land around #25….